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Black Bean Enchiladas

A baked dish of whole wheat tortillas filled with seasoned black beans and topped with tomato sauce and mozzarella cheese.

By Health Canada · From Canada's Food Guide · 20 ingredients
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Black Bean Enchiladas

Why it works: Cumin and beans match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,188 recipes. Both carry linalool, which smells floral, citrus. The science ↓

Black Bean Enchiladas

Serves 4
Oven190°C (375°F)
Time20 minutes

Ingredients

Directions

Make the sauce

  1. Prepare whole wheat flour tortillas.

  2. Set aside tortillas.

  3. Preheat oven to 190°C (375°F).

  4. In a medium-sized pot, over medium heat, add 30 mL vegetable oil and whole wheat flour.

  5. Add cumin, garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, salt (optional) and tomato paste.

  6. Stir for 10 seconds, or until spices are toasted and fragrant. Be careful not to burn the spices.

  7. Whisk in vegetable broth and vinegar.

  8. Bring to a simmer and cook for 10 minutes or until thickened.

  9. Add water, 30 mL at a time, if necessary, to adjust sauce consistency.

  10. Set aside sauce.

Make the bean filling

  1. In a small pot, heat 5 mL vegetable oil over medium heat.

  2. Add black beans, peppers, cumin, onion powder and garlic powder.

  3. Toast spices for 1 minute.

  4. Pour in water. Stir.

  5. Cook for 2 to 4 minutes, or until reduced by half.

  6. Remove from heat.

  7. Using a potato masher, gently mash beans.

  8. Set aside filling.

Assemble and bake

  1. In an oven safe 23x33 cm (9x13 inch) dish, add 125 mL of the prepared sauce.

  2. Set aside dish.

  3. To assemble the enchiladas, evenly divide bean filling onto each tortilla.

  4. Top each tortilla with 15 mL mozzarella cheese. Roll enchiladas.

  5. Place rolled enchiladas in the prepared baking dish with sauce.

  6. Pour remaining sauce onto enchiladas.

  7. Sprinkle with remaining shredded cheese.

  8. Cover with foil.

  9. Place in the oven for 20 minutes or until cheese has melted.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

1025Calories
34 gProtein
26 gFat
162 gCarbs

Counts 12 of 13 ingredients. The other 1 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.

What these numbers assume: 12 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Flour1 cup (125g) all-purpose455
Tortilla1 medium flour (45g)140
Olive Oil1 tbsp (14g)119
Black Bean1/2 cup canned (120g) drained114
Mozzarella Cheese1 oz (28g)85
Onion1 medium (110g)44
Bell Pepper1 medium (119g)31
Tomato1 medium (123g)22
Cumin1 tsp ground (2.1g)8
Garlic1 clove (3g)4
Vinegar1 tbsp (15ml) distilled3
Salt1 tsp (6g)0
Waternot in our table0

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

By Health Canada. Recipe from Canada's Food Guide.

Steps grouped into stages for easier reading; the method is the source's own.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

  1. Cumin + beanstop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together1,188 recipes

    Shared aroma: linalool (floral, citrus).

  2. Garlic + oniontop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together29,058 recipes

    Shared aroma: furaneol (caramel, strawberry).

  3. Cumin + garlictop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together5,082 recipes

    Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).

  4. Tomato + beanstop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together2,713 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).

  5. Cumin + tomatotop 2% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together3,272 recipes

    Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Whole wheat flour
Thickens the sauce as it cooks with the oil and broth.
Black beans
Form the bulk of the filling, giving body, protein and a soft texture when mashed.
Tomato paste
Adds concentrated savory flavour and colour to the sauce.
Mozzarella cheese
Melts over the rolled tortillas to bind and add richness.
Vegetable broth
Forms the liquid base of the sauce that thickens as it simmers.

The step that matters

Toasting the spices in the sauce. Spices can burn quickly in hot oil and turn bitter. Stirring them for only about 10 seconds, just until fragrant, releases their aroma without scorching.

Swap the onion

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (wheat, flour, cumin, garlic, tomato, vinegar, beans):

  1. Spinachfits better
  2. Okrafits better
  3. Kalefits better
  4. Onionthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against wheat, flour, cumin, garlic, tomato, vinegar, beans. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

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